The polymorphism at the miRNA binding site of GOLGA7 is associated with the Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer risk

Aims: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) binds to the 3’-untranslated regions (UTRs) of messenger RNAs and regulates cell differentiation, apoptosis and tumor genesis. Genetic polymorphisms at the 3’-UTRs alter the strength of miRNA binding and affect the behavior of miRNA. In this study, we analyzed a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of rs11337 within the miRNA seed region for the 3’-UTR of GOLGA7 gene to assess its association with cancer risk of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in a case-control study in Chinese population. Methods: rs11337 were genotyped with ligation detection reaction (LDR) method. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of rs11337 in NHL and healthy control were calculated using an unconditional logistic regression model. Result: rs11337 is associated with the cancer risk of NHL (OR=1.339, 95% CI 0.989-1.815), and cancer risk association was also confirmed in NHL subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (OR=1.555, 95% CI 0.581-1.825). Conclusion: The SNP at the miRNA-binding site of GOLGA7 3’-untranslated regions influences cancer risk of NHL. The analysis of genetic polymorphisms in miRNA-binding sites may help to identify high-risk NHL patient subgroups.